Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. The talented J.R.R.
Tolkien owns the characters and Peter Jackson owns the movie from
which I got the idea for this fic.

Author's Notes: This story starts off right after Frodo is
cut loose from that huge slimy monster-thing and they're all
running into the mines. By the way, I'm basing this fic on the
movies, not the books, 'cause I haven't read the books in a
while.

Chapter 1: Into the Mines

"Into the mines!" Gandalf shouted as the Boromir hurriedly
carried Frodo away from the monster. Aragorn glanced back at the
monster as he followed.

"Legolas!"
Boromir cried as the monster lunged. Aragorn thrust his sword at the
monster and ran after Boromir. Legolas pulled an arrow out of his
quiver and took careful aim.

"Into the cave!" Aragorn yelled as the monster shrieked in pain
and fury.

Legolas unleashed the arrow and struck the monster in the eye, giving
the others a few seconds to make it to the caves.

"Run!"
Aragorn shouted as he herded the hobbits and Boromir into the caves.
The monster reared and let out a roar as it unfurled long, hand-like
appendages, grabbing onto the stone around the entrance to the caves.
It pulled itself out of the water and began pulling down the doors
and stones around the cave, blocking the Fellowship's exit.
Everyone hurried inside as the ceiling gave way and came crashing to
the ground. The hobbits clustered together fearfully as they watched
the monster' destruction. Legolas came to a stop behind Aragorn
and clutched his shoulder.

"Are
you all right?" the Elf whispered as all light was extinguished
from the cave-in.

"I'm
fine. What about you; are you hurt?" Aragorn replied quietly,
looking at Legolas and brushing a strand of hair from the blonde
man's eyes.

"No,
I'm all right," Legolas replied, his breath hitching in his
throat like it did every time Aragorn touched him.

"Good,
because I wouldn't be able to stand it if something happened to
you," Aragorn said earnestly, leaning forward. Legolas's eyes
fluttered shut as Aragorn's breath ghosted over his lips. Just
then, Gandalf spoke.

"We
now have but one choice."

The
wizard's staff suddenly glowed and he rapped it upon the floor,
creating a brighter light. Legolas and Aragorn leapt apart, but not
before giving each other meaningful glances. Aragorn drifted,
undetected, to the back of the group next to Boromir.

"We
must face the long dark of Moria," Gandalf continued, starting off
into the shadows. "Be on your guard," he added as he passed
Legolas. "There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep
places of the world."

Everyone
fell into a line as they followed Gandalf: the wizard himself,
Legolas, Gimli, the four hobbits, Aragorn, and Boromir. The
Fellowship set off.

"Quietly
now. It's a four-day journey to the other side," Gandalf warned.
"Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed."

Legolas
followed Gandalf along a narrow path and up a steep set of stairs,
his bow out and senses on guard. Even with impending danger ahead of
them, he had to struggle to keep his thoughts off Aragorn. However,
he was startled out of his thoughts by Gandalf's voice.

"The
wealth of Moria was not in gold or jewels," he stated
conversationally as he ran his hand over a silver-looking vein, "but
. . . mithril."

He
stopped and looked over the side of the cliff. Out of curiosity,
Legolas's eyes followed the wizard's gaze and were astonished by
what they saw. He glanced over and saw that Aragorn, as well, was
amazed at the sight. There was an infinite depth of walls and
ladders and buckets. Everywhere there was a shining of the same
silver-like substance that Gandalf had admired in the wall next to
them.

"Bilbo
had a shirt of mithril rings that Thorin gave him," Gandalf added,
continuing down the path.

"Oh,
that was a kingly gift!" Gimli exulted.

"Yes,"
Gandalf replied. "I never told him," he said, with the air of
one about to divulge a great secret, "but its worth was greater
than the value of the Shire."

Legolas
missed the last part of his statement because he turned to look at
Aragorn. The Ranger, however, was staring intently at Frodo, who
looked a bit intimidated. Legolas felt a stab of jealousy at the
intensity of the gaze of which Aragorn was giving Frodo. The feeling
quickly passed and a wave of shame, foolishness, and guilt swept over
him instead. Legolas felt his face turn red as he thought about his
insecurity. Aragorn would never leave him, especially for a hobbit.

The
Fellowship began climbing up the steepest stairway Legolas had ever
seen. He heard some pebbles fall and whirled his head around, his
hand already on his bow, which he had placed around his quiver to
allow easy climbing. When he turned, all the sound was had been
Pippin slipping and falling into Merry.

"Pippin!"
Merry rebuked hushedly.

Gandalf
reached the top of the stairs first and, one by one, the Fellowship
stepped over the side with the help of Legolas, who had reached the
top seconds after Gandalf. When Aragorn came last, he held onto
Legolas's hand, both of them glancing uneasily around. Aragorn's
hand strayed from Legolas's and found its way to the small of the
Elf's back, where it stayed, unconsciously stroking. They both
exchanged worried looks as Gandalf halts at the top of a short
staircase.

"I
have no memory of this place," he whispered resignedly.

Legolas
leant up against a nearby wall as everyone settled on the ground.
His eyes flitted over to Aragorn, where the Ranger sat next to
Boromir. He distantly heard Merry, Pippin, and Sam quietly
discussing Gandalf's loss of familiarity.

"Are
we lost?" Pippin whispered fearfully.

"No,"
Merry replied determinedly, although it sounded to Legolas that he
wasn't quite sure himself.

"I
think we are," Pippin said matter-of-factly.

"Shhh!
Gandalf's thinking!" Sam hissed. Legolas smiled as he tuned out
the rest of the conversation. He turned his head to see Frodo
walking over to Gandalf.

"There's
something down there!" Frodo whispered as he reached the wizard.

"It's
Gollum," Gandalf replied, as though he had been expecting it.
Legolas shivered. Oh, how he hated that creature.

"Gollum?"
Frodo replied, half surprised, half frightened.

"He's
been following us for three days."

"He
escaped the dungeons of Barad-Dûr!" Frodo cried.

"Escaped?"
Gandalf asked, turning to Frodo. "Or was set loose?"
Understanding dawned on Frodo's face. Legolas leaned closer as he
strained to hear the rest of Gandalf's statement as the wizard
dropped his voice. "And now the Ring has drawn him here. He will
never be rid of his need for it. He hates and loves the Ring, as he
hates and loves himself."

Legolas's
blue eyes followed his gaze. He saw dark, dirty fingers grab a stone
block, large wet eyes and a grimy face coming after. Great.
The slimy thing's here again, Legolas thought. He
scrunched up his nose and shuddered as he again caught sight of the
filthy face.

"Sméagol's
life is a sad story," Gandalf continued. "Yes, Sméagol he
was once called. Before the Ring found him...before it drove him
mad."

Legolas
had heard enough. He ignored the rest of the conversation and,
involuntarily, his eyes and thoughts turned back to Aragorn.
Suddenly, the Ranger twisted around just in time to see Legolas
glance away, embarrassed, looking everywhere but Aragorn. Legolas
felt stupid. He knew Aragorn couldn't do or say anything when they
were in the company of others. Legolas felt Aragorn's gaze on his
back, where it stayed for a good five minutes until, driven out of
frustration, the blonde man shifted his eyes back to Aragorn. He saw
the scruffy Ranger smile and wink, which made the Elf turn a bright
red. He hung his head, allowing his long blonde hair to fall about
his face to hide a goofy grin that had appeared. Just then, he saw
Merry, Pippin, and Sam look up, hopeful smiles on their faces.

"He's
remembered!" Merry said happily, getting to his feet.

"No,
but the air doesn't smell so foul down here," Gandalf corrected.
He led the Fellowship down a dark stairway as he put on his peaked
hat. He rested a hand on the short hobbit's shoulder. "If in
doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose."

Legolas
fell into step behind the four hobbits as they followed Gandalf into
the depths of the caves. Before long, they came to a large, open
area. Broken, elaborate columns lie strewn on the floor. Gandalf
halted the line of adventurers and lifted up his staff.

"Let
me risk a little more light," Gandalf said, more to himself than
anyone else.

Suddenly,
an ostentatious stone hall lined with soaring pillars and vaulted
ceilings was illuminated by the light of the old wizard's staff.
Legolas could hear the gasps of awe from the others and could
understand their amazement.

"Behold,"
Gandalf said, as though he were introducing a celebrated hero. "The
great realm and dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf."

"Now
there's an eye-opener and no mistake," Sam breathed in wonder,
gazing at the sight before him.

The
Fellowship clustered together and began walking forward, glancing
curiously around the columns. Gimli abruptly broke away and hurried
towards a chamber shining with a single ray of light.

"Gimli!"
Gandalf cried as the dwarf rushed away from the group.

Gimli
ignored Gandalf and disappeared into the room. Legolas exchanged
tense looks with Aragorn and Boromir as Gandalf strode into the
chamber after the dwarf. Legolas was surprised by the state of the
room. The walls were scarred and broken, as were the corpses and
weapons flung about. The Company found Gimli kneeling by a tomb and
sobbing. Gandalf stepped forward and looked at the tomb's surface.
The hobbits gingerly shuffled forward so they were next to the tomb.
Legolas sensed rather than saw Aragorn step up beside him. The
Ranger bumped into him and, in the process, laced fingers with the
handsome Elf.

"No!
No!" Gimli sobbed. "No!!!"

Boromir
solemnly moved forward and laid a hand on Gimli's shaking shoulder.
Gandalf leant over the tomb and read it aloud, translating as he
went.

"
'Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria'," Gandalf read.
"He is dead, then. It's as I feared."

Gimli
wailed ever louder. Gandalf spotted something and hands his hat and
staff to Pippin. He bent down and grabbed a large and battered book
from the grasp of a dust skeleton. He opened it and brushed the dirt
from the page.

A
feeling of unease grew in the pit of Legolas's stomach. He knew
something was coming but couldn't place the sensation. He leaned
into Aragorn.

"We
must move on; we cannot linger!" Legolas whispered in the Ranger's
ear. He nodded.

"I
know, my love, I know," Aragorn murmured back. "Relax, we will
be out of here soon enough."

"No,
you don't understand!" Legolas hissed urgently. "I—"

"
'They have taken the bridge...and the second hall',"
Gandalf read aloud from the thick book he held in his arms. Legolas
and Aragorn turned to the old man as Gimli looked up and Gandalf
continued reading. "'We have barred the gates...but cannot
hold them for long. The ground shakes'."

He
looked up slowly as he turned the bloodstained piece of parchment.
Legolas noticed everyone shifting from one foot to the other
nervously.

"
'We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark'."

Legolas
saw Pippin trip and perceived, at the same time as the hobbit, a
dusty corpse sitting on the side of a stone well with an arrow
imbedded in its chest. Legolas opened his mouth to say something but
found he could make no sound.

"
'We cannot get out... They are coming!' "

The
Fellowship glanced uneasily at each other. Legolas's bright blue
eyes flicked to Pippin, where he saw the hobbit reach out and twist
the arrow in the corpse's chest. Before the Elf could move, the
skull slipped off the body, falling into the well with a loud crash.
Gandalf whipped around at the noise.

Pippin
guiltily turned to face the furious wizard. As he faced Gandalf, the
remaining limbs of the corpse slips backwards into the well, dragging
down with it a connecting chain and bucket. The noise made everyone
wince, the sound echoing from hall to hall in the infinite depths
below. Pippin managed to look ashamed, but visibly flinched at every
ricocheting noise. After a moment, there is silence again and
everyone began to relax. Boromir exhaled a deep breath. Gandalf
slammed the thick, dusty book shut.

"Fool
of a Took!" Gandalf snapped. "Throw yourself in next time and
rid us of your stupidity!"

He
turned and snatched his hat and staff away from the hobbit and then
turned back to the rest of the Fellowship. Distantly, Legolas heard
a sound.

::Boom...boom::

Gandalf
and Pippin turned simultaneously, the hobbit staring down the well.
As though one, the Company all glances uneasily at the well.

::Boom...boom-boom...boom-boom-boom::

It
stopped and everyone thought it was over. Then, like a strong
heartbeat, it began again.

::Boom-boom-boom-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM::

Terror
filled the faces of everyone, as the pounding grew louder.

"Frodo!"
Sam exclaimed, looking at Frodo's sword. Frodo looked down, as
well as everyone else in the Company, as he pulled his sword, Sting,
halfway out of its sheath. It glowed blue. Everyone knew what that
meant.

"Orcs!"
Legolas cried as he looked around.

Boromir
rushed to the doors to take a look. He leaps back just in time as
arrows hiss through the door near his face. After exchanging a last
look with Legolas, Aragorn threw down his torch and ran over to
Boromir while shouting back to the hobbits.

"Get
back! Stay close to Gandalf!"

They
both manage to close the doors as a horrifying bellow was let loose
outside the chamber.

"They
have a cave troll," Boromir told the rest.

Legolas
spotted some rusty axes nearby and began tossing them to Aragorn and
Boromir to help blockade the door. When they were finished, they
brandished their weapons, ready to fight. The rest of the Fellowship
followed their example.

Gimli
leapt atop Balin's tomb with a cry and brandished his axe.

"Let
them come!" he cried, snarling. "There is one dwarf yet in Moria
who still draws breath!"

There
was a pounding outside the door as the Orcs begin breaking the doors
down. The Fellowship could see weapons crashing through the
splintering wood.

Legolas
and Aragorn stood side by side in the front of the group, bows out,
ready to shoot. The Elf saw a gap in the door and he shot. His
reward was a shrill cry. He notched another arrow to his bow as
Aragorn let loose another.

Suddenly,
the Orcs broke through the door and the battle began.

The
waves of armor-clad Orcs charged the Fellowship, who engaged the Orcs
in the encounter. Aragorn and Legolas unleashed a shower of arrows
upon the Orcs, killing many, while Boromir and Gimli sliced at them
with sword and axe. With a roar, Gandalf threw himself into the
fight, the little hobbits following. Aragorn drew his word and swung
it around, beheading an Orc and darting away as black blood spurted.

Legolas
spotted Sam standing in the heart of the battle, staring upwards.
The Elf saw Aragorn follow his gaze and looked in the same direction
as well. Just then a cave troll smashed through the doorway.
Legolas notched an arrow, aimed and let it fly. It struck true in
the shoulder of the troll. The monster clasped a hand to the wound
before advancing on Sam, who was still standing stock still in the
middle of the fight. As the troll swung its mace, Sam yelled and
dove under the troll's legs. The troll turned around and spotted
the cringing hobbit. It raised its leg to crush Sam after cornering
him, but fell back. Legolas spotted Aragorn and Boromir pulling on
the chain leading behind the troll. The monster twisted around and,
using his chain, swung Boromir across the room into a stone wall,
where he laid, dazed, as an Orc prepared to run his sword through the
man.

Aragorn
saw this, as well. He took his sword and threw it into the Orc's
neck, killing it. Still in a daze, Boromir gets up and looks to
Aragorn. The Ranger nodded. Despite everything around him, Legolas
still felt immensely proud of Aragorn for saving the life of someone
he had just met several days before and not making a big deal about
it.

Gimli
stood upon the tomb of Balin. He swung his axe and pierced the
troll's shoulder near Legolas's arrow. The troll, in
retaliation, swung his mace into the tomb, shattering it and knocking
Gimli off. Legolas noticed Merry and Pippin push Frodo behind a
pillar to keep him safe while Gimli hacked at an Orc. The troll
swung his mace at Gimli and the dwarf ducked just in time. Instead,
the monster struck an Orc, and then another. From a crowded corner
of dead goblins, Legolas unsheathed two more arrows into the troll,
causing it to reel back with a cry, as Gandalf knocked out an Orc
with his staff.

The
troll then began swinging its chain around in circles over his head,
finally snapping it at Legolas. Deftly, the Elf dodged it, only to
have the chain swung at him again. The Elf evaded the chain several
more times until, one time, the chain whipped around a pillar and
caught. Legolas placed a foot firmly on the chain to secure it. He
then took the opportunity to dart up the chain to the troll's broad
shoulders; he quickly took aim and let an arrow loose into the back
of the troll's head. The troll cried and reached behind its head
for the person that caused it pain. Legolas easily jumped off to the
floor, mentally congratulating himself on not getting killed. The
troll was whimpering in pain and it stumbled, snapping its chain free
from the pillar. Legolas saw Sam hit an Orc with one of his
skillets.

"I
think I'm getting the hang of this!" Sam said before turning and
smashing another Orc.

The
troll raised its mace and swung it down at the other three hobbits,
causing them to leap apart, Frodo separated from Merry and Pippin.
The troll searched for Frodo, who manages to evade capture by playing
cat-and-mouse behind a pillar. Before Legolas could say anything,
Aragorn cried out.

"Frodo!"
he shouted, trying to fight his way over to the trapped hobbit.
Frodo made his way around the pillar to avoid being seen by the
troll. Twice this happened, before it seemed the troll had left him
alone. Then, out of nowhere, the troll blasted around the pillar,
bellowing in Frodo's face. The hobbit yelled, stumbled, and fell
back behind the pillar in a corner. The troll found him nevertheless
and snatched him up. It dragged Frodo off of the edge of an alcove.

"Aragorn!
Aragorn!" Frodo yelled, fear evident in his voice. Legolas noted
that Aragorn looked absolutely exhausted, but he continued still.

"Frodo!"
he shouted back, making for the hobbit.

Frodo
slashed wildly at the troll's hand with his sword. As a result the
troll dropped Frodo to the ground, twisting and staring at its
injured hand. After a moment, the troll growled and prepared itself
to swing again, but Frodo was blocked by Aragorn leaping in front of
him with a yell.

The
Ranger grabbed a nearby spear from the floor and stabbed at the troll
with it, holding the beast at bay. The troll was further infuriated
by Merry and Pippin throwing stones at its head. The troll swung his
arm around and hit Aragorn, sending him flying across the room into a
stone wall. Legolas gasped in horror; Aragorn was lying, seemingly
unconscious, on the ground. The Elf glanced from the Ranger to an
advancing Orc and made up his mind.

"Forgive
me, my love," he whispered, blinking tears out of his eyes as he
threw himself full force at the Orc. He noticed out of the corner of
his eye that Frodo had rushed over to Aragorn and was trying to rouse
him.

Frodo
noticed the troll looming over him and tried to dash out of harm's
way. The troll, however, had another thought. It blocked Frodo's
path with its spear and knocked the hobbit back. The troll then
reared back before plunging the spear into Frodo. He moans in pain
as the troll surveyed what it had done. Merry and Pippin glanced at
each other before charging the troll with battle cries. They leapt
onto the beast, stabbing it multiple times mercilessly.

"Frodo!"
Sam cried worriedly while Gandalf stared across the room, stunned.
"Frodo!" he shouted before moving quickly towards his friend.
Startled from their trance, Gandalf, Boromir, and Aragorn hurried
towards the fallen hobbit. Frodo, still moaning, slumped to the
floor with the spear imbedded into his chest.

The
troll flailed his arms around his head and, after much effort,
finally got hold of Merry. It swung the hobbit around and finally
Merry slipped through the troll's grip and fell to the ground.
Pippin was still hanging on to his sword sticking out of the troll's
back. The rest of the Fellowship had redoubled their efforts against
the Orcs and the troll. Gandalf and Gimli were taking turns stabbing
at the troll and dodging out of range of its mace. Legolas stepped
up and aimed. Pippin stabbed the troll one more time in the back of
the head. As a result the troll opened its mouth in a moan of pain.
Legolas let his arrow loose. It flew up into the troll's mouth.

The
troll stopped fighting and its hand fumbled at his mouth where the
arrow was. It stared upwards, shocked, and gave a long, pained moan
as it fell dead to the ground. Pippin was thrown to the floor when
the troll hit solid rock. There was a moment of silence before
anyone moved. Then Gandalf rushed to Frodo while Aragorn crawled the
last few feet to the fallen hobbit. Frightened and stunned, Sam
walked slowly over.

"Oh,
no," Aragorn whispered as he looked over the spear digging into
Frodo. He rolled the hobbit over onto his back. Frodo opened his
eyes, groaning and gasping for breath.

"I'm
all right. I'm not hurt," Frodo reassured the others as he sat
up, clutching his chest and breathing hard.

"You
should be dead! The spear would have skewered a wild boar,"
Aragorn remarked, astonished.

"I
think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eyes," Gandalf
commented, smiling at Frodo.

Uneasily,
Frodo revealed his mithril shirt, which glimmered in the light of the
chamber.

"Mithril!"
Gimli cried hoarsely, in awe. "You are full of surprised, Master
Baggins."

Suddenly,
the Fellowship heard noises. Gandalf looked behind him and saw the
shadows of more Orcs.

"To
the Bridge of Khazad-dûm!" he whispered, looking back at the
Fellowship.

The
Company ran out the rear door of the chamber into a high, vaulted
hall of pillars with ray of light shining from an unseen shaft.
Closely pursuing the Fellowship was an army of Orcs. Other Orcs
sprung from the floor or crawled down from the ceiling onto the
pillars like spiders. The Fellowship drew their weapons as they
gathered in a tight circle. The Orcs surrounded the Fellowship and
enclosed upon the nine, snarling and leering at them. Just then, a
fiery light appeared at the end of the hall followed by a thunderous
rumble and another. Panicking, the Orcs flee in all directions. The
Fellowship is left alone as Gandalf gazes down the hall. Legolas
notched an arrow and started to aim. When he saw the light become
more intense, his hold on the arrow loosened.

"What
is this new devilry?" Boromir whispered into Gandalf's ear. The
old wizard closed his eyes, concentrating. Another rumble was heard
before he opened them again.

"A
Balrog – a demon of the ancient world," he replied grimly.

The
rumble was heard again, still remaining out of sight. Fiery light
danced on the walls and ceilings.

As
soon as Legolas heard the name of the monster, his heart dropped.
Before his eyes flashed pictures of this horrible creature he had
seen but once before. He had hoped never to see it again.

"This
foe is beyond any of you," Gandalf stated as he turned to his
right. "Run!"

Author's
Notes: This is my first Lord of the Rings fic. Please tell me
what you think, whether it's I suck at LotR and should stick to
Harry Potter (that's what I usually write), or it's I'm pretty
good and should continue with the story.

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.